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2099: Awakening, Chapter 4
“Let me get it straight. You are telling us a beam of gamma rays is on its way to the Earth and will reach us in less than a hundred years”, the retired man asked.
“Yes, you got that right”, Susheela replied.
“And when it strikes the Earth, all living beings will be destroyed”
“Correct”
“It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie to me”, the man chuckled.
“It’s up to you to believe it. But we have evidence to back it up”
“What does it have to do with us?”, Deepti spoke for the first time. The three others gazed at Susheela since everyone had this question in their minds.
“It is necessary that I tell you about our defense and survival plans in order to answer that question”, Susheela said.
“Yes, please go ahead. Anyways you have wasted two hours of my time. So you might as well waste a few more”, the man said.
Susheela skipped a few slides and stopped at a slide with the image of a nuclear power plant.
“The Earth is already constantly receiving a tiny amount of gamma rays from the sun and other interstellar sources. The Ozone layer filters them out before they even make it to the atmosphere below. But the gamma-ray we are talking about is much more powerful. It will interact with the nitrogen molecules in our atmosphere. Then the nitrogen molecules will break apart the ozone and form nitrogen dioxide. Basically, the entire ozone layer will be destroyed immediately. Research suggests that such a gamma-ray burst already triggered a mass extinction event 450 million years ago.
“We are already handling such high doses of radiation in nuclear power plants. Radiation shielding is done using thick blocks of concrete or lead. Sometimes a thick layer of water is also used. As long as there is a dense enough barrier, radiation can be blocked, or at least reduced to safer levels. Our current plan is to build an underground shield for people to live in for a few years after the strike. But our estimates say that the shield will be able to contain about 50 million people. We can stretch it to 1 billion with technological advancement in the next few decades. UN projections say that the population of Earth will be close to 10.9 Billion by the next century. We will not be able to accommodate such a large number of people in the underground shield. Research on portable shields made of safe materials needs to be started so that people can start shielding their own homes. We also need to work on food and oxygen supply. The gamma-ray will strip most of the oxygen on Earth and plant life will be destroyed immediately. Herbivores will starve to death followed by carnivores. The remaining living species will suffocate to death. We call such an event an extinction-level event. Research and development in the fields mentioned need to start immediately, and you are our first group of recruits for the project”
The four visitors glanced at each other. Their minds couldn’t process what was going on. They were being told the world was going to end. There was a century of time so none of them would be alive by then. But they needed to worry about their children. They were now being recruited to save the planet from extinction. All this took place in less than two hours. Nobody outside the room was even aware of the danger Earth was going to encounter. Could they trust this woman who spoke so calmly as if nothing had happened? In the room were also some of India's most renowned scientists. Things were happening so fast that it seemed like the script of a movie.
“Professor Jayanth Shukla”, Susheela said pointing at the retired man, “had developed a device that can produce oxygen from nitrogen dioxide during his Ph.D.”
“That device could barely produce any oxygen”, the retired man Jayanth replied.
“I agree the yield was low and that’s why it didn’t attract any eyes. But we have a century of time and after the gamma-ray strike, there will be an abundance of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. This is your chance to save humanity”, Susheela said.
Jayanth stared at her without a response.
“Ms. Deeksha Shenoy”, she said pointing at the woman in her late 20s, “is a researcher at the Indian Institute of Science. She is developing a high-density polymer that is three times denser than lead and can be applied onto surfaces like paint”
“The results are not great and we are...
“Yes, you got that right”, Susheela replied.
“And when it strikes the Earth, all living beings will be destroyed”
“Correct”
“It sounds like something from a sci-fi movie to me”, the man chuckled.
“It’s up to you to believe it. But we have evidence to back it up”
“What does it have to do with us?”, Deepti spoke for the first time. The three others gazed at Susheela since everyone had this question in their minds.
“It is necessary that I tell you about our defense and survival plans in order to answer that question”, Susheela said.
“Yes, please go ahead. Anyways you have wasted two hours of my time. So you might as well waste a few more”, the man said.
Susheela skipped a few slides and stopped at a slide with the image of a nuclear power plant.
“The Earth is already constantly receiving a tiny amount of gamma rays from the sun and other interstellar sources. The Ozone layer filters them out before they even make it to the atmosphere below. But the gamma-ray we are talking about is much more powerful. It will interact with the nitrogen molecules in our atmosphere. Then the nitrogen molecules will break apart the ozone and form nitrogen dioxide. Basically, the entire ozone layer will be destroyed immediately. Research suggests that such a gamma-ray burst already triggered a mass extinction event 450 million years ago.
“We are already handling such high doses of radiation in nuclear power plants. Radiation shielding is done using thick blocks of concrete or lead. Sometimes a thick layer of water is also used. As long as there is a dense enough barrier, radiation can be blocked, or at least reduced to safer levels. Our current plan is to build an underground shield for people to live in for a few years after the strike. But our estimates say that the shield will be able to contain about 50 million people. We can stretch it to 1 billion with technological advancement in the next few decades. UN projections say that the population of Earth will be close to 10.9 Billion by the next century. We will not be able to accommodate such a large number of people in the underground shield. Research on portable shields made of safe materials needs to be started so that people can start shielding their own homes. We also need to work on food and oxygen supply. The gamma-ray will strip most of the oxygen on Earth and plant life will be destroyed immediately. Herbivores will starve to death followed by carnivores. The remaining living species will suffocate to death. We call such an event an extinction-level event. Research and development in the fields mentioned need to start immediately, and you are our first group of recruits for the project”
The four visitors glanced at each other. Their minds couldn’t process what was going on. They were being told the world was going to end. There was a century of time so none of them would be alive by then. But they needed to worry about their children. They were now being recruited to save the planet from extinction. All this took place in less than two hours. Nobody outside the room was even aware of the danger Earth was going to encounter. Could they trust this woman who spoke so calmly as if nothing had happened? In the room were also some of India's most renowned scientists. Things were happening so fast that it seemed like the script of a movie.
“Professor Jayanth Shukla”, Susheela said pointing at the retired man, “had developed a device that can produce oxygen from nitrogen dioxide during his Ph.D.”
“That device could barely produce any oxygen”, the retired man Jayanth replied.
“I agree the yield was low and that’s why it didn’t attract any eyes. But we have a century of time and after the gamma-ray strike, there will be an abundance of nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. This is your chance to save humanity”, Susheela said.
Jayanth stared at her without a response.
“Ms. Deeksha Shenoy”, she said pointing at the woman in her late 20s, “is a researcher at the Indian Institute of Science. She is developing a high-density polymer that is three times denser than lead and can be applied onto surfaces like paint”
“The results are not great and we are...
